Learning by doing
by Tennoda
Summary: A little lesson on kissing threatening to go overboard.


Some light fun. No Madara things happened here and Lee is growing up.

I don't own Naruto or any of the show's characters.

* * *

Rena decided she had had enough and let herself fall back onto the bed of soft grass that had tickled her bare feet invitingly the whole morning. The sun was at its peak and assaulted her eyes as soon as her head hit the ground, but she was only happy to close them for a minute or two.

"What are you doing, Rena? That's no way to enjoy the springtime of youth!"

"How would you know without trying?" she retorted lazily, cracking one eye open to glance at the man with the bowl-cut hair and noticeably thick eyebrows. "You should join me, the grass is nice today."

"You're not feeling unwell, are you?"

Rena shifted her gaze to the youngster with the exact same bowl-cut and thick eyebrows and smiled warmly. "No, Lee, I'm fine and dandy. Thoughtful of you to ask, though. _Some_ people aren't as considerate, even when it's _their_ girlfriend in question."

She made sure to cast a half-serious glare at Gai, who at least had the decency to look somewhat embarrassed.

"Well... you've never had any trouble with training before, I didn't assume you would now", the green-clothed jounin explained awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "But if this is too tough for you to keep up..."

Rena spotted the playful spark in the dark eyes and snorted. "You're not going to succeed in goading me that easily. Go on, you boys have fun getting heat strokes. I'll be waiting for you here."

An excited grin lit up Gai's face. Spinning around towards Lee, he pointed a dramatic finger at the young chuunin.

"How about you?! Do you think you can withstand more grueling, back-breaking training?! Is the fire of your youth burning brightly enough?!"

"Yessir!" came the pumped up reply. "It burns for my dream to prove even someone like me can become a splendid ninja through hard work! For that I'll go through any challenge Gai-sensei gives me!"

Rena had closed her eyes again. She didn't need to see to know Gai had tears streaming down his face.

"And I won't stop until I've helped your dream to become reality! Let's go, Lee! Let your passion burn brighter than the sun!"

"Yes, Gai-sensei!"

Rena smiled to herself. Those two were really something else. A couple of hard-headed, easily moved idiots. She loved both of them very much.

After that, it was one ridiculous training method after another. Listening to the continuous counting and encouraging cheers lulled Rena into sleep against her intentions.

A shadow passing by and briefly blocking the scorching sun woke her up. For a second she was clueless as to her own whereabouts, but a glance to her side quickly brought back her memories.

"So... my knights in sweaty jumpsuits have returned. Judging by how weary you look, you had fun."

Lying next to her on his stomach, Gai lifted his head to flash a tired, but victorious grin. "Of course... nothing beats the... the..." at that point Gai's head dropped back down and Rena couldn't hear what he mumbled, but she threw a wild guess it had something to do with 'youth' and 'passion'.

"I should've known you'd end up overdoing it", Rena shook her head disapprovingly and turned to look to her other side, where Lee lay sprawled on his back, just as beat. "You're both exhausted. You do know it's dangerous to over-exert yourself when it's this hot and sunny? Youthful enthusiasm isn't going to help you if you keel over and die from a heat stroke."

Both of the hot-blooded shinobi muttered weak protests, but Rena was merciless. "How careless can you be, Gai? Lee's well-being is your responsibility, so take it a bit more seriously, for goodness' sake!"

Sitting up with her legs crossed, Rena turned to Lee and placed her hands on his solar plexus. "You're lucky I know some medical ninjutsu. Otherwise I'd have to drag your carcasses to the hospital."

It didn't take long for Lee to perk up. His half-closed eyes opened and blinked in surprise as his strength suddenly returned. Rena patted his chest to signal she was done.

"That should get you home. But take it easy for the rest of the day, alright?"

"Right..." Lee sat up, agreeing hesitantly and Rena knew he was already contemplating how to continue training. "Thank you, Rena-san."

Letting the subject go, Rena turned to give Gai the same treatment. A moment later, the black-haired jounin stirred too, giving her a thumbs-up with the side of his face still resting against the grass.

"You're a life-saver, Rena."

"Damn right I am", Rena gave the man a cocky smirk before lying back down with her hands under her head. "And I expect some appreciation for it."

She hadn't expected to receive it right away and grumbled a halfhearted protest as Gai's arm reached over her middle and rolled her over until she had her back against his front.

"I'll show my appreciation later."

The hushed promise and the lightly playing fingers on her stomach gave Rena a pretty good idea of the type of appreciation she was going to receive. The thought made her body warm up in anticipation. She had always been highly susceptible to Gai's advances, to the point where it had even become embarrassing sometimes.

But right then she was more embarrassed to see Lee hugging his knees, eyes carefully fixed on the tree leaves above them and faint patches of color on his cheeks.

"Gai!" she hissed alarmed, elbowing the green-clothed man as he leaned closer to nuzzle her hair. "Wrong time, wrong place!"

Wriggling away from the warm body and nimble fingers, Rena settled back to her original position, unable to relax anymore. Her judgmental scowl melted away soon, however, as she saw the obviously fake pouty look on Gai's face.

"Don't give me that", she said with poorly stifled laughter. "You're going to traumatize your student if you keep that up."

Gai was too straightforward to keep up the act and grinned cheekily. "What? These are important skills that a man should know."

Rena grabbed a handful of grass and chucked it at the infuriating shinobi. "So is jerking off, but you don't learn that by watching others either."

Realizing just then what she had said, Rena bit her tongue, turning to Lee, who couldn't have looked more interested in the gentle dance of the leaves. "Sorry... please don't be traumatized."

Lee gave her a quick attempt at a smile before returning his attention to the trees. "Don't worry. I'm not a child anymore. I'm happy that you and Gai-sensei have found each other."

There was a serious, almost longing tone in the young chuunin's voice. Rena knew he was thinking about Sakura and forced herself to hold back the words she had once already told him. She wished he would've been able to get over his hopeless crush, but nagging about it wouldn't help. He was simply too stubborn when he had his mind set on something.

"You'll find someone too", she offered consolation instead, hating how empty the words sounded. "Heck, if I wasn't ten years older than you, I would've probably asked you out and not Gai."

Somehow she wasn't surprised Gai didn't find that offensive.

"Of course you would've", the thick-browed jounin took the same proud tone he always used when talking about his favorite student. "Lee's passion and determination are unrivaled and his taijutsu skills will soon match mine."

"Also, he's cute as a button", Rena added with a wink, causing the young shinobi to blush more than with her profanities.

"That he is", Gai agreed absent-mindedly, musing something. ""And more innocent and naive than might be good for him. Maybe I should've given him a few pointers by now after all."

Rena wasn't sure what to think of that. She was curious to hear what the eccentric man would say, but also fearful of the possible catastrophe she might then have to correct.

"Gai-sensei", even Lee looked doubtful. "You know there is no one I look up to more than you, but... are you sure you're the right person to be teaching about such things?"

Rena couldn't help, but laugh at the obvious distrust the brow-furrowing chuunin had for his sensei's wooing skills. Gai wasn't deterred by either of them, propping himself up on his elbow and raising his index finger in a lecturing manner.

"Listen, Lee. I'm going to tell you the secret to making a woman go crazy over you."

"Oh?" Rena couldn't resist commenting. "This I want to hear."

Lee, however, was already drawn in by Gai's confident enthusiasm, looking at him with wide, awe-filled eyes. Rena half-expected him to dig out his notebook.

"One, simple thing", Gai left a dramatic pause to build tension. "If you know how to do that right, any minor flaws you might have, including forgetting birthdays, can be quickly forgiven."

Rena raised a questioning brow at whatever miraculous trick the enthusiastic jounin had in mind. It sounded more than a little dubious.

"What is it, Gai-sensei?" Lee was clearly taking the words as seriously as any training lesson and Gai chuckled smugly before flashing a bright grin and letting them in on his secret.

"Kissing."

One stupefied silence later.

"What?" Rena pushed herself upright.

""Oh, I see", Lee stated simultaneously.

Rena wasn't convinced. "Hold on! First of all, how's that going to help him find someone, and second... really Gai?"

Gai sat up next to her, his confident grin unaffected by her skepticism. "Really."

Rena's heart jumped before their mouths even made contact. The instant fire the unexpected kiss started, lit up every dormant nerve ending in her body, warming her up all the way to her toes. She didn't even notice the world turning as Gai's body weight pushed her back to the ground, settling on top of her and deepening the kiss.

After the head-spinning moment, the hot-blooded jounin pulled back just enough to break their contact. Rena opened her eyes, quivering as the man's warm breath tickled her lips.

"So, was I right?" Do you forgive me for not remembering when your birthday is?"

Rena wished she could've moved, but Gai remained still, leaning his upper body over her and effectively keeping her from thinking straight. The dark eyes studied her slightly labored breathing and other involuntary reactions with warm humor, but also with a very specific spark that indicated the passionate shinobi might soon forget they weren't alone.

"F-fine! I'll give you that much", Rena admitted curtly, swallowing her pride in the hopes of getting the teasing man to back off before one of them would go too far. "But you still don't learn these things by watching, so this was pointless."

To Rena's relief, Gai released her and got back down on his side with a contemplating expression. Rena had to look away and closed her eyes. She was too embarrassed to face Lee and too excited to keep looking at Gai. It would probably be best to just leave before anyone got any more bright ideas.

"You know..." Gai's deep voice slowly stretching the words made her suspect it was already too late. "He could practice..."

It took Rena a moment to process what she had just heard. Then her eyes flew open and turned to search for confirmation from the older shinobi. The guilty face Gai was trying to hide was proof enough that she had understood his proposition perfectly. It took her another moment to figure out how to react to it.

"Gai..." she finally decided to casually sweep the whole thing under a rug. "Didn't I tell you not to traumatize your student? He's too young and sweet for your..."

A quick movement cut Rena's sentence short and left her speechless.

"I already told you, Rena-san. I'm not a child anymore."

Rena was too flabbergasted to say anything to the thick-browed chuunin suddenly hovering on top of her on his hands and knees. She glanced hesitantly to the side at Gai, finding no help. From the looks of it, he was almost as surprised as she was.

Returning her attention to the intense gaze the round eyes had fixed on her, Rena felt very much trapped. How the hell had Gai managed to get her into this situation?

She had to admit that Lee was right, though. On such a close distance, she couldn't help, but notice the obvious changes in the young shinobi. He wasn't some scrawny kid anymore. At some point he had gone through a growth-spurt that had left Rena having to look up whenever talking to him. Now she could also see, not only the muscle mass that was starting to catch up to his gained height, but the broader shoulders and the facial features that had lost their child-like softness too.

When had that happened?

"No..." she admitted quietly, surprised by the faint twinge of sadness that took over her. "I guess you're not."

"Then, with your permission, Rena-san", Lee brought his bandaged hand to her face, lightly brushing a strand of stray hair aside. "I'd like to test Gai-sensei's theory."

The gentle touch caused Rena's face to instantly heat up, acting like a light switch, turning the brief nostalgic moment off and leaving her with a pounding heart and quickly growing restlessness among other confusing feelings. She stole another questioning glance at Gai, blushing even more and very nearly cursing out loud as she witnessed the smug look on his face.

"You're enjoying this a bit too much, you know?"

Gai only grinned at her remark, sitting up and giving his waiting student a cheerful thumbs-up. "I believe that counts as a yes."

The hell it does, Rena protested angrily in her mind, glaring daggers at Gai. She didn't know what to think of the whole weird situation and it didn't help that she was still undeniably turned on by Gai's little demonstration.

The sudden feel of a warm hand tentatively caressing the side of her head drew Rena's eyes quickly back to the young chuunin. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but her mind had turned blank and the thunderous heartbeat booming in her ears kept distracting her.

The faint red color had returned to Lee's face, but his expression was determined. He was really going to do it, the realization came to Rena just as the face above hers began moving closer, leaving her petrified.

A mere inch separating their lips, the black-haired shinobi stopped, as if asking for her permission again. By then Rena had forgotten Gai and everything else around them, and simply waited for the inevitable, unable to shake the feeling that she was doing something wrong.

She didn't expect Lee to change direction and sneak a quick kiss on her cheek.

The look on her face must have been something, judging from the amused smile that lifted the corner of the thick-browed chuunin's mouth as he pulled back to look at her. "If I may say so, Rena-san, that baffled and embarrassed expression looks cute on you."

Rena's face flared even redder, if possible, as she realized Lee was teasing her for all the times she had called him cute. Who knew he had a mischievous side?

Slowly, but irresistibly, a bright smile crept to her face. "What? Did you miss on such close proximity? That's quite a blunder in a real situation, just so you know."

"I'll keep that in mind", Lee promised, still sporting the lightly teasing smile, even though his tone was completely serious. "And I won't make the same mistake twice."

It was clear to Rena Lee had intended to loosen the tension between them and she was grateful for that. It was also clear that they weren't done yet. Lee wasn't moving anywhere and the look in his round eyes was still expecting.

"We better get this done, then", she pushed back the rest of her embarrassment and decided to just tackle the unordinary task head on. "If we take much longer, I suspect Gai's going to knock our heads together."

"Don't worry, Rena", the jounin sounded way too satisfied. "You can try as many times as needed."

Again Rena felt irritated by the undisguised enjoyment Gai seemed to be getting from seeing her under someone else. Or maybe it was because that someone was Lee. In any case, it was a kink she hadn't had a chance to notice before and she had to admit, it was a little worrying.

"I swear if I catch him stroking himself..." she muttered vengefully under her breath.

Lee either didn't hear her, or pretended not to hear. He adjusted his hand on her head to get a better hold and to keep it from turning away, letting his sleek fingers entangle with her hair.

Rena wasn't going to back away, nor was she going to lie there passively anymore. If this really was what they both wanted, she wasn't going to play reluctant and make Lee feel bad. Her own feeling of wrongdoing had eased anyway when Lee had surprised her and made her smile. Now it would be their turn to be surprised.

She wished she could've seen Gai's face as she flung her arms over the young chuunin's shoulders and pulled him down into a proper kiss this time. She caught a glimpse of the round eyes widening before closing her own and concentrating on sampling the inexperienced lips that pressed tensely against hers.

It didn't take long for Lee to get over his surprise and lose the tension. His lips began moving with Rena's, giving her a pleasant thrill she hadn't been expecting. She gave in to it, gently caressing the back of the black-haired chuunin's neck while curiously playing with the warm sensations their contact stirred within her.

After a while she loosened her hold and let Lee end their kiss on his own. The look of wonder as he did so, raising his head, but maintaining his hold on hers, was almost unbearably sweet. Rena couldn't resist bringing a hand from the young man's shoulder and onto his face, letting her fingers glide affectionately over his cheek and down his jawline.

"You really are too precious, Lee..."

The chuunin in question raised his thick eyebrows quizzically, but before he could ask, Gai's deep voice pulled them away from their little bubble.

"That wasn't too bad, Lee, but if you want to achieve the maximum impact, you need to be more assertive. Take the control back from her."

Gai moved right next to them and leaned with his hand blocking his mouth from view to whisper something in Lee's ear. Rena was instantly on guard, but no matter how hard she strained to hear, she couldn't make out enough words to make sense of them. Whatever Gai was advising his student to do, it was going to be a surprise for her.

"I-I see..." Lee said hesitantly after Gai had finished. "Gai-sensei, are you sure that's okay for me to do?"

"Sure. Don't worry", Gai assured lightly with an encouraging grin. "I know her."

Why did those sound like the words of doom? Rena felt shivers crawling down her back. How far was Gai exactly planning on taking this? It was still supposed to be a lesson on kissing only, right?

"Rena-san", Lee's attention was back on her again, a noticeably awkward expression on his slightly flushed face. "Did... did you like it?"

Rena's eyes immediately searched Gai's. The closely watching jounin wore a knowing smile and she knew her answer would only make it more victorious.

"I did..." she confessed anyway, considering her embarrassment a far better option than hurting the caring and considerate chuunin. "Despite how strange this is, it really was nice."

Lee relaxed visibly, but as soon as the uncertainty left his face, his brows furrowed in displeasure. "Nice isn't good enough, is it?"

Rena wasn't sure what to say. "Well... it depends..."

"You don't need to make excuses for me", Lee suddenly had a look of absolute determination, the same kind Rena had seen on him during intense training sessions or when fighting particularly strong adversaries. "I know you wish to spare my feelings, but no matter the type of training, I take it seriously and I ask you to do the same now."

Rena sighed and smiled in defeat. "Alright, Lee. No more mothering. I'm going to be brutally honest from now on. But just because I care about you."

Lee returned her smile. "Thank you for that. So then... how was it really?"

Rena felt the corner of her mouth twitch as her smile became strained. Damn it. The persistent chuunin wasn't going to let it go.

"It was nice. Really. But it wouldn't knock my socks off if I was wearing any. On a scale from one to ten, if Gai was a perfect ten..."

"What do you mean 'if'?"

Rena ignored the indignant jounin and continued. "You'd be... maybe a five or a six."

Lee grimaced and hung his head. "That much difference, huh?"

"Don't feel discouraged, Lee!" Gai patted his precious student briskly on the back. "It will take vigorous training, but you will succeed just as you have done with taijutsu."

V-vigorous training...?

"I had to practice too to get to where I am today, hour after hour..."

"Uh, Gai..."

"...continuing to try and find out how to push her buttons..."

"Keep my private life out of this."

"...until I'd make her moan and writhe in my hands every time."

"I'm going to get you for this, just you wait."

"Just tap into that vibrant passion that's flowing through you and remember what I told you."

"Yes, Gai-sensei!"

Rena was just about to move her foot from under Lee to kick the shameless jounin, when her hands were caught and forcefully pushed above her head, then secured in place by Lee's forearm pressing down on them.

She had gotten used to a lot of things with Gai, but seeing something like that from the gentle and always polite Lee was a little more than jarring. There were no words anymore. With new motivation and advice backing him up, Lee took the lead and sealed Rena's mouth with a kiss considerably different from the previous one she had instigated.

The passion was definitely there, shown by the eagerness of his lips as they decisively claimed hers and by the tongue that soon demanded entrance into her mouth. Rena had no objections and granted him what he wanted, feeling the same excited curiosity as before.

Lee didn't stop there. His free hand studied the shapes of her face and neck, ghosting over the dip between her collarbones, before turning back and heading to grip the back of her neck. A tempting warmth was starting to spread in Rena's warmth, raising the young chuunin's grade to a solid seven out of ten. She kind of wanted to pull him all the way down on her to see if they could get it up to eight.

Lee already had something else on his mind, though. Breaking their kiss and giving his mouth another task, he began tracing the same route his fingers had taken. As his head moved to the side, the midday sun flared into Rena's eyes again, momentarily blinding her, which right then didn't really bother her. Not when all of her focus was on the mouth nipping at her earlobe.

That must've been Gai's doing. Rena doubted Lee would've dared to go that far on his own volition. Nevertheless, it did feel good. Good enough to make her whole body shudder as the boldly experimenting chuunin flicked his tongue just below her ear.

"T-that's cheating...!" Rena accused in shock, aiming her words at the obviously delighted jounin. "You told him, didn't you Gai?"

"About your sensitive spots? Maybe. Just keep up the good work, Lee."

Rena turned her head reflexively to try and block the mouth from reaching her neck, but Lee turned it back just as easily, this time gliding his tongue slowly upwards.

Rena was starting to feel a little too good. A few kisses and gentle bites later she couldn't stay quiet anymore. The soft moans escaping from her every now and then only inspired Lee to continue with more confidence.

She would've been fine with it, without the unexpected added stimulation.

Just as Lee took her mouth in another, this time more urgent kiss, Rena felt a hand on her leg. Her first thought was to question what it was doing there, then, as it began massaging her thigh, her thoughts focused on cursing Gai's very existence.

She tried pulling her hands free to slap the intrusive hand away, but Lee's forearm was still firmly pressing them to the grassy ground, not letting up one bit. The hand glided lightly to her inner thigh, making Rena quickly close her legs.

It was getting hard to concentrate. The fingers still between her legs kept teasing her, moving inevitably closer to her warm and wet center, despite her efforts at stopping them. And making things worse, she wasn't sure if she really wanted to stop them. Even through the fabric of her shorts, the slow touches heightened the pleasure the fiery kisses had started, making her reason falter more and more.

Rena realized she was getting more vocal, but she couldn't help it. Gai's fingers had settled as far as they could go, rubbing against her sex, while Lee's mouth and free hand were busy with her upper body.

Rena didn't know if Lee had noticed what his sensei was doing, but there was no way he wasn't hearing the intense pleasure her muffled moans were expressing. She couldn't go on much longer like this. Having both of the over-the-top, passionate shinobi tending to her at the same time would've been something unthinkable before, but now Rena found herself desperately wanting all they had to offer. Only a tiny voice in the back of her head was unhappily aware that it meant Gai had won this little game.

She told the voice to come back later when she wasn't busy.

Without a warning, so suddenly that it took Rena a moment to gather herself and focus her eyes again, Lee broke their heated kiss and practically jumped away from her, falling to his knees panting.

"I-I'm sorry, Rena-san... I don't think... I should continue."

Rena's breathing was just as labored as she sat up, leaning back on her hands with confusion painted all over her face. Then, as her blank mind kept gathering the visual clues from the uncomfortably hunching shinobi who was scrunching his furiously blushing face in concentration, her mouth opened in a realizing 'oooh...' sound.

So she hadn't been the only one getting a little overexcited.

Rena looked away considerately, still feeling the warm excitement bubbling inside her and even a bit of self-satisfaction from knowing that the training-obsessed chuunin hadn't been able to control himself with her. She turned her eyes to Gai, who was sitting with his legs crossed and practically purring with delight.

Are you happy now? Rena's eyes asked him accusingly. The amused, yet determined look Gai's dark eyes gave back to her sent shivers down her spine. He was still planning something, she was sure.

"Well, that was great!" Rena sprang to her feet, masking her insecurity and refound embarrassment behind an awkwardly joyful front. "That was, uhh... much better, Lee. You definitely got the hang of it, so I'd say you're ready. For... whenever... you might need to... Yep, good job!"

At that point Rena gave up trying to save her face and decided on a hasty retreat. She gave Lee a smile she hoped wasn't as nervously strained as it felt and turned to Gai, bending down to kiss his cheekbone before whispering sweetly into his ear.

"You better sleep with one eye open tonight."

"I'll be keeping both my eyes open", Gai was as confident as ever, despite Rena's threat. "I still owe you that debt for healing us after all."

Rena's body heated up again. She could feel the intense gaze prickling her skin as Gai's eyes traveled to her neck. He looked very much like contemplating whether to continue right away where Lee had left off.

That was it. Rena needed to leave.

"I'm heading home", she stood up straight, intentionally avoiding looking at Gai. "Don't overdo it again or you really will have to go to the hospital."

"Yes, ma'am", Gai replied happily and Rena shook her head in exasperation, finally fleeing the scene of the unexpected lecture.

"Oh, by the way..." Gai called after her. "We have a lot to do and it's probably going to be a long day. You won't mind if Lee stays over for the night, will you?"

Rena froze in the middle of a brisk step. She didn't dare to look back as she pondered her answer.

"We'll see."


End file.
